Abstract

Unlike general social robots, Smibi, a baby robot, is not designed to assist users with tasks, but rather, to respond as a human baby, ceasing to cry, smile, or sleep in response to the quality and quantity of care provided by the user. This study investigated whether engaging with Smibi could reduce depressive symptoms in older individuals who require care or assistance. The study participants were 30 community-dwelling older individuals (15 men, 15 women; mean age±standard deviation, 81.7±6.6 years). All participants interacted with Smibi for 4 weeks. The Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and the functional independent measure were then used to assess the participants before and after the 4-week interaction. The results revealed a significant difference in mean SDS scores (38.3±8.5 before the intervention vs. 34.4 ±8.2 after the intervention; p=0.031). These findings suggest that interacting with baby robots such as Smibi might reduce depressive symptoms in older individuals..

Keywords:Baby robot; Depressive symptoms; Emotion; Older individuals; Social robot

Abbreviations:FIM: Functional Independent Measure; MMSE: Mini-Mental State Examination; NCGG: National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology; SDS: Self-Rating Depression Scale; WHO: World Health Organization